It is the autonomous Anglican church for the whole island of Ireland, both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, led by the Archbishop of Armagh as Primate of All Ireland.
The Church of Ireland traces its origin to the early Irish church and to Saint Patrick, and it became a self governing church when it was disestablished by the Irish Church Act of 1869, effective in 1871. Its General Synod governs the church, and its worship is set out in the Irish Book of Common Prayer.
Sources
Primary
- Preamble and Declaration of the Church of Ireland, adopted in 1870
Secondary
- Alan Ford, James McGuire and Kenneth Milne, As by Law Established: The Church of Ireland Since the Restoration (1995)